The Winds of Destiny
by kemokage
Summary: A fanfiction that continues rufftoon's Avatar AU comic in which Aang is discovered by Sokka and Katara 20 years after he was supposed to be discovered on the show. This is a collaborative project of the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtleducks.
1. Prologue: Old Friends

This is the first chapter of Winds of Destiny, a fanfiction that I collaborated on, on the Avatar Refuge website as part of a contest to continue rufftoon's Avatar Alternate History comic. The comic addresses the question of what the Avatar world would be like if Aang had been discovered by Katara and Sokka 20 years after it happened on the show. If you would like to read that comic go .com/gallery/#_browse/scraps--3. I did not write all of the chapters of this fanfic so I will make sure to give credit where credit is due. I did write this chapter however. Avatar is owned by Viacom and Mike and Bryan. The Avatar Alternate History comic is owned by rufftoon. Please review!

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_It feels so good to be able to waterbend again._

Dawn was just breaking and Katara stood in the middle of a lake full of the reflected colors of the morning sunrise. Her feet lightly swept across the lake's surface as she whirled about, testing out her reclaimed waterbending abilities. For once she managed to forget her fears and soak in the simple pleasure of bending as she created and quelled waves, froze and melted various water formations, and lashed out with a series of water whips and tentacles.

Katara couldn't believe the ease with which she was manipulating the water. Waterbending had always been such a struggle for her before, yet after feeling the loss of the moon for so many years, its return had granted her a far deeper connection with her element. Bending came as easily as breathing to her now and she joyfully stretched out her arms with a series of bending forms as if she were embracing a long lost friend.

The thought of friends put a stopper on Katara's flow of happiness and with a sigh she sank into a kneeling position on the water's surface as she remembered the sacrifice that had been made to bring the moon back.

None of them had suspected that Yue would give up her life in order to revive the moon spirit, but apparently that had been her plan all along. Katara couldn't imagine the kind of pain Yue had been suffering for the past 17 years since Zhao vanquished the moon spirit, but for her to have seen death as her only possible course of action...

Katara shook her head and looked down at the sad eyes of her reflection as she absentmindedly stroked the surface of the water with her hand. Yue's death had affected the others even more. Even though he only knew her for a short time, Sokka had become very attached and protective of Yue and for him to see her throw her life away all because of what the fire nation did well... his hatred for the fire nation just boiled over. He actually tried to allow the fire nation soldiers into the room just so he could try to take a few down with him. He seemed much calmer now though, and his heart was mending.

With Aang it was a different story. He was still shaken up from the whole experience. They had just barely managed to escape Zhao's ship with their lives. It was doubtful that he would wish to return to the spirit world anytime soon.

"Katara! Hey earth to Katara! What do you think you're doing out there?"

Katara was jarred out of her train of thought by Sokka's shouting from the shore. Apparently he had finally woken up and was ready to go.

"Come on Katara. You can play with your magic water later. I've got our route all planned out for us."

"It's not magic, it's bending! How many times do I have to remind you of that?"

Despite her frustration at Sokka's persistence, Katara couldn't help but smile.

_At least he's acting like his old self again._

Then she cringed when the meaning of the later part of Sokka's message dawned on her. Sokka was going to be their navigator? She did not like the sound of that.


	2. Chapter 1: Blowing Off Steam

I plan on posting up one chapter each week. This chapter was written by me, kemokage. The Avatar Alternate History comic is owned by rufftoon. Avatar is owned by Viacom and Mike and Bryan. Please review!

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Zuko paced back and forth through his quarters, a mixture of anxiety and frustration coursing through his veins. The avatar was alive! After years of fruitless searching, Zuko's faint hope of finding the avatar was finally being realized and he was nothing more than a child.

"How could I allow such an impudent whelp to best me!" Zuko said to himself. "I have waited for this moment for 22 years and when the coward finally shows his face I let him slip right through my fingers. To think that he presumed to show me mercy!"

Zuko roared at the ceiling, blasts of flame erupting from his mouth. As his fire slowly died down to wisps of smoke Zuko collapsed onto his bed, his body weary from defeating all of Zhao's men. Zhao! To think that that cretin was now chasing both the avatar and his uncle, it was too much to bear.

Zuko heard his door begin to creak open and turned his head toward his uncle as he entered his room.

"Zuko..." Iroh began. Zuko assumed that his uncle had come there to cheer him up with another one of his famous sayings. The fire prince's face remained expressionless.

"The men who sleep above you are starting to complain about getting their feet seared off from all the heat you are blowing on their floor."

Zuko allowed a small gurgle of surprise to escape his lips as he nearly fell of his bed. He was not expecting that.

"Tell them I'm sorry uncle, I just have a lot on my mind," Zuko sighed as he turned to look up at his ceiling.

"I'm sorry I allowed myself to be discovered, it's just that... I was afraid I would lose you. I had to try to help you. But I guess you were perfectly capable of helping yourself. I forget what a skilled firebender you have become."

Zuko turned to look at his uncle, his eyes full of emotion. It was times like this that he felt so unworthy of the old man's love.

"It's not your fault uncle and besides it's only Zhao we're talking about. He won't tell my father you're alive for fear of his own hind and I'm perfectly capable of dealing with him."

Iroh smiled at his nephew. To hear optimism coming from him was refreshing change.

"Why don't I whip us up a pot of calming jasmine tea hmm?"

"Sure uncle. My nerves could do with some calming down."


	3. Chapter 2: Losing Hope

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Sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile especially after I said I was planning on putting up a new chapter every week. What can I say? Life hit me. In any case here is the next chapter. I wrote this fanfic collaboritvely. The idea of Avatar AU belongs to rufftoon. Avatar belongs to Viacom and Bryke.

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She sighed as she placed her ragged hands upon the cold, unforgiving metal. One more time. She just had to do this, had to. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the minuscule amounts of earth contained within her small cell.

I can do this. She slowly tried to close her open hands into a fist, bringing metal with her fingers. Come on…

Quick footsteps approached her room. Silently, she walked over to her lowly straw mattress and sat down as the footsteps nonchalantly passed her room. The guards couldn't know what she was attempting.

As if it mattered anyway. The young woman huffed quietly. For her, hope was a small trinket that had been stolen years ago, a privilege. Now, it's all about survival. She gingerly placed a hand on the scar that defiled her neck. Survival. Hope was useless.

Toph replayed the day of the end of her life. It was like an infinite nightmare that she wanted to desperately wish away. Why didn't she just act like the frail little blind girl she was? It could have saved her life. It could have saved theirs.

A smile of triumph. A threat extinguished. Two unmoving bodies.

She closed her eyes. "No," Toph whispered out loud to no one in particular. "No." What was the point? They should have killed her too. Lying on her back, she tried to calm herself by trying to focus on a delicate lullaby. A weak older lady often sang softly in the prison cell next door. Her voice was so beautiful, it kept Toph sane. That lady doesn't know how important she is to me.

Peacefully, Toph drifted into a dreamless rest.


	4. Chapter 3: Rising Flame

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Since I took so long submitting the next chapter I thought it was only fair that I'd post up two in one day. I wrote this fanfic collaboratively. Avatar Au belongs to rufftoon. Avatar belongs to Viacom and Bryke. Please review! I plan to start posting up my own fanfics soon.

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Zuko looked down at the faint swirls of froth on the surface of his tea and took another sip. His uncle always had a knack for making the perfect pot of jasmine tea. His muscles began to relax as he looked across at his uncle. He knew what was on both of their minds, but he wasn't about to be the one to bring it up. His uncle sighed, breaking the silence.

"Zuko I know how long you have searched for the avatar, but now that he's back do you really plan on capturing him and bringing him back to your father?"

"You know I do uncle. I don't really have a choice. There is no other way for me to gain back my birthright of becoming the next fire lord and I can't very well just sit back and let Azula take the crown from me."

"Zuko, why do you insist on putting yourself through this? Why can't you just let it go?"

"How am I supposed to let it go uncle?! Even if I did manage to go into hiding and live a normal life what would that do for the world? I can't expect to put an end to all of this by just running away!"

"But surely there must be a better way than surrendering the avatar to your father," Iroh pleaded.

"We've been over this. There is no other way. I just can't beat him uncle, not even with the lightning redirection move you taught me. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to beat him, not on my own anyway and who would help the banished prince of the fire nation?"

"You'd be surprised. You can find allies in the most unlikely of places. Perhaps there is something else you could do with the avatar besides capturing him."

Zuko looked at his uncle in shock.

"Uncle you can't really be suggesting that I team up with the avatar! You should have seen the way his friends looked at me. The rest of the world hates the fire nation and I don't blame them."

"The avatar looked like he'd give you a chance. He did help you back up instead of knocking you off the top of Zhao's ship."

"So you saw that huh?"

"My dear nephew you should know by now, old people see everything."

Zuko held back a smile as he said, "Whether or not the avatar showed me mercy it doesn't mean that I could or should team up with him. I seriously doubt that a child like him would be able to take on my father. I know I could beat the kid in a fair fight. Besides the avatar has already run away from this world once and left it to suffer, why should I give him the chance to do it again?"

Iroh sighed as he looked at his nephew with forlorn eyes.

"Perhaps in time you will both start to see each other in a different light. But until that time you should get some rest nephew."

"I'll do that but before I do," Zuko said as he reached into his armor and pulled out the pearl dagger his uncle had once given him. "I'd like you to do something for me."

Zuko unsheathed the dagger and gazed at the inscription emblazoned on the blade.

"I'm going to have to leave the ship for awhile in order to find the information I seek and I'm going to need to blend in. So I think the time has come to cut off my top knot. Would you like to do the honors?"

Iroh's pain was obvious in his voice as he replied. "If that's what you really want nephew."

Iroh grasped the dagger and moved towards his nephew. _I pray my nephew that one day you will find a way to rise above your grief._


	5. Chapter 4: Ensnared

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Yeah the next chapter's up! And just a few days after the last one too! What a miracle! I wrote this fanfic collaboratively. The idea for Avatar AU belongs to rufftoon and Avatar belongs to Viacom and Bryke. Please reveiw!

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"Sokka, how lost are we?" Katara asked, ignoring the annoying rustling sound coming from the bushes. _That little rustle was just a baby koala sheep... right?_

"We're not lost!" he shouted impatiently. "It's just a shortcut." Katara merely rolled her eyes and kept shuffling through the leaves. They had been walking through a forest to who knows where (she doubted Sokka knew) for three hours. Honestly, she was ready to just be locked away in a Fire Nation prison so they could stop their fruitless wandering. She was sick of being on the run. _When will this ever be over?  
_  
_But was their wandering really fruitless if they had the Avatar? Although, he was just a little child, barely touching his teenaged years, but still, he's the most powerful being in the world._

Katara sighed audibly.

Rustle, rustle.

"Guys, wh-what's that in the bushes?"

"It's a koala sheep," Sokka mumbled distractedly. He had pulled a map out of his bag and was fumbling with it. "If Ba Sing Se is that way, then we must be going south…"

Katara looked down at Aang. She could tell how nervous he was. "It's nothing, Aang." He sighed and looked away, obviously hoping that she was right. Katara didn't think that Aang could take another attack. In fact, none of them could. Anxiety had been clawing at the three like a rabid wolf bat. Familiar questions began to zoom around in her head.

_When will be the next time they run into the Fire Nation? Would they be able to escape? Will anything ever take a turn for the best?  
_  
Rustle, rustle.

_And what the heck was in those bushes?!  
_  
"That's it, I'm looking in those bushes to find out what's going on for once and for all!" cried Katara, blowing an air of frustration.

_Would the enemies just attack already? They didn't have time for games!  
_  
Katara marched directly over to the source of the rustles. She kneeled and mercilessly pawed her way through the leaves and thorns. However, she found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Glaring, she turned around to Sokka and Aang. "Let's just keep going." Aang relaxed a little, but he's eyes still darted back and forth around the forest. Momo flew from Appa's saddle and landed on Aang's shoulder, making himself at home.

"You two are such babies."

"Says the guy who screamed louder than me when he saw a platypus bear," she dismissed lightly. Just as a retort was about to pass his lips, the breath was knocked completely out of him. A strange man had jumped out of the other side of the old dirt trail they walked on and gave Sokka a solid blow to the chest with a long wooden staff. The strange man prepared another strike to Sokka's head to render him unconscious, but Katara intercepted his arms with waterbending and Aang blew him onto his back with a powerful blast of air. Shocked, little Momo flew up towards the sky and started to circle the group fearfully.

Ten more men leaped out trees and surrounded the trio. "What the?!" Sokka shouted dazed, realing from the powerful blow. Appa growled loudly at their new enemies, beating the ground angrily.

Each man had a special item and Sokka correctly assumed that the men could and wouldn't hesitate to take them out if necessary. "Tie them up, I'm sure He would love these characters!" ordered what seemed to be the leader. His voice boomed with sarcasm, authority, and effeminacy.

_Wait, what?!_ Sokka's bewilderment only grew with each passing second.

"Where are you taking us?" Katara spat as the me—er, women, closed in with ropes and blindfolds. "What do you even want?" Their attackers wore basic camouflage shirts with long slits for mobility. Their clothes were very well-made and billowy, and it was dubious that they didn't have any concealed weapons. From far off, it had been hard to pin down were their bodies were underneath all the layers of clothing, which was probably strategic. Overall, what they sported match their skill level – lethally precise.

The women began to tie them tightly to each other and one blew a few darts at Appa and Momo to sedate the creatures. Katara glowered with the fiercest expression she could manage, Aang visibly shook with wide eyes, and Sokka grabbed a few last glances at the women as they fastened thick blindfolds to their faces.

"Y-you guys are w-women?" Sokka eventually sputtered.

"Yes," the leader smirked with an amused smile, "have problem?" Sokka's mouth remained open for so long, he swallowed an unsuspecting fly, not that he even noticed.

"Alright girls, let's finish up!" she cried out to her mini army. The trio heard a few scant rustling noises, and then everything faded away.


	6. Chapter 5: Grasping at Grains

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So here it is, the next chapter. Let me know what you think of it. Remember, I wrote this fanfic collaboratively and it is a continuation of rufftoon's Avatar AU comic which was set 20 years later than the show. Therefore Aang is still 12, Toph is 32, Katara is 34, Sokka is 35, and Zuko is 36. It would be impossible for Aang to wind up with any of the show's original characters because it would be a little creepy if he did. This is how rufftoon set the comic and this fanfic simply continues where it left off. Just a little reminder. :)

I'd like to thank everyone who has been writing reveiws. I really appreciate it.

The idea of Avatar AU belongs to rufftoon and Avatar belongs to Viacom and Bryke. Enjoy!

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"Food!!" a grisly voice sneered for the third time. Toph ignored him and did not move from her position on the floor. The idiot seemed to think that just because she was blind, she was unaware of her surroundings. Almost every morning, she usually participated in snotty banter with a guard just to feel like her old self again, but she wasn't in the mood today.

Toph wasn't even hungry.

"I guess the little girl is having a temper tantrum today," he scoffed. "No skin off my back. Feeding the prisoners is a waste of resources anyway."

_Waste of resources?! They were only fed once a day, if the guards even felt like making the trip down here. Plus, the food they were served was rotten and inedible. And how is being thirty-two a little girl? That's just insulting. I'm going to set him straight._

If there was one thing Toph admired, it was how determined they were to get a rise out of their prisoners. Arguing daily nearly made her feel slightly better.

She weakly stood up and wandered towards the door. Gripping tightly to the thick bars that covered the window, she attempted to glare into the man's eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I delaying your pedicure time?"

"That was pathetic, even for you, my favorite prisoner," the guard spat, opening the small slot at the bottom of the door and shoving the tray inside carelessly. He closed the slot and quickly left her in silence.

"If you would let me out of my cell, I'd show you who's pathetic!" Even after all these years, being called a prisoner still burned. Her voice hollowly echoed off the walls of the narrow hall as she tried to gather up the food that had spilled all over the floor. The Boiling Rock's kitchen was being kind today – a bruised moon peach, rice, and dirty water. It seemed as if they simply used water from the boiling lake, and the moon peach felt weeks old. Rice, however, was always good in her opinion. She moved her hand around the floor to scoop up all of the fallen rice. Dumping the rice she had gathered in her hands into the small leaf bowl, she began to dine on the small serving of food. Toph decided to keep the moon peach as a toy to pass the time. Smirking, she thought of ways to lure her 'favorite' guard close enough to her cell to throw the new projectile at him. It was terribly hard to aim when there were too many vibrations travelling through the metal for Toph to "see" properly, so she'd need to wait for him to be directly in front of the door.

She sighed. This is what her days were always like. Contemplate her past and future, annoy guards, try to metalbend, and every once in awhile having the "privilege" of being allowed to roam the metal hallways. Always and forever. Toph wanted to help people. She wanted to bring down the Fire Nation; she wanted to break its hold on everyone. Back when she was younger, and had everything, she couldn't care less about the war – it hadn't affected her, why bother? But this was now her fate: to be haunted with the fact that she didn't do anything when she had the chance.

Toph stood up and struggled with the stubborn metal once again as shame clouded her thoughts. She didn't expect to make any improvements, but what else could she do?

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So there you have it. Toph is being imprisoned in Boiling Rock. I realize that it was never said where Toph was imprisoned before but this story is revealing itself by degrees. As always please reveiw and tell me what you thought of it.

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	7. Chapter 6: First Impressions

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The next chapter is up! Again please review and tell me what you think of it. I wrote this fanfic collaboratively. The idea of Avatar AU belongs to rufftoon and Avatar belongs to Viacom and Bryke.

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Katara was thrown down cruelly on a cold, rough surface.

"What's going on?!" she shouted still trying to get her bearings. Aside from her massive headache, she was relatively fine. _Still, who knows what the enemy is planning?_ She started to wriggle as much as she could against her binds. "Untie me right now!"

She heard a soft clank and the sound of receding footsteps. "Hey! Did you hear me?! Come back here and untie me!"

"Katara, could you please stop shouting, my head's still pounding."

"Sokka! You're here!" Katara had never been so happy to hear her brother's voice in her whole life.

"Just barely."

"What about Aang? Aang. . .?"

"I'm here," Aang called out as he airbended himself to his feet.

"Where are you guys?" he asked, as he shuffled around what felt like a wooden cell. Trying to walk with his legs tied together wasn't an easy task, even for an airbender, especially since a blindfold was still tied securely over his eyes. He could only hobble a few steps at a time without falling down.

Sokka rolled over to where he last heard Aang. Rolling a little too far, he slammed into the young boy's legs causing Aang to fall right on top of him. "Ow! Aang, get off me and use your teeth to untie my hands," he ordered, rolling onto his side to allow better access to the knot right above his palms. Aang fell abruptly next to Sokka and began to gnaw blindly at the rope.

"Aang, stop it, ouch! That's, ouch, my skin!"

Something resembling "Mmph!" was heard in response.

Katara sighed heavily against the floor, and wriggled slowly over to the source of Sokka's yelps. "Will you two knock it off?" she scolded, wishing they could see her roll her eyes. She bumped into Sokka to quiet him.

The door suddenly flew open, and loud footsteps entered the room. They could almost hear the person smirk. More footsteps joined the first as Aang spit out Sokka's bonds and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"What do you want?" Aang growled, attempting to appear as menacing as a 12 year old could. He lifted his head up to where he sensed the person standing a few feet away from them. Snorts of laughter echoed throughout the room as he tried to ignore the embarrassment crawling to his cheeks.

"Isn't he cute?" teased someone, who probably was one of their attackers.

"Very," agreed another.

"Quiet." A feeling of dread snaked its way through Sokka's body and mixed with the throbbing of his hands and knees. He immediately knew that this situation was not going to go well for their little group. "We shouldn't taunt our guests," the smooth male voice continued with a false hint of warmth. Sokka sensed him move towards Aang.

"Get away from him!" Katara cried viciously as she threw herself against the unknown man's legs. She had caught him off gaurd and he went toppling onto the floor. Trying to reach Aang, she rolled against the man and started unabashedly biting at whatever body part was available. "Are you okay?" she called out to Aang. The man shoved her off, and climbed to his feet. She sighed in relief as Aang assured her that he was alright. However, Katara's relief was short lived as she felt two large hands grip her sides and forcibly lift her off the ground.

Jet's arms were only a little scratched, but his anger simmered. He forced himself to relax and set the agitated waterbender down on her feet. Gently he removed her blindfold so he could look into her eyes that were glaring right back at him with all the rage of a storm at sea. He gave a nod to his freedom fighters and they proceeded to untie the three captives. The waterbender immediately drew back from him as she massaged her wrists, her eyes never leaving his face.

"I'm sorry about having to take you captive like this, but I needed to make sure I knew who you are."

"And who are we?"

"The Avatar's protectors." At this the woman narrowed her eyes and placed herself in front of Aang as her male companion drew himself alongside them.

"You've got that right."

"Please, you have no need to fear us, we want to take down the Fire Nation just as much as you. In fact, that's why I wanted to talk to you," Jet said as his voice became more serious. _I still can't believe that that little shrimp is the Avatar._

"We need your help."

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Yeah Jet's back! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!

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